"Dreadful service and no communication between..."

My son had routine surgery - adenoids and tonsils on the 8th march 2014 firstly he was a bit poorly on arrival and started to cough - the consultant said he was fine for surgery and off he went - he was in and out in a short time and in recovery he was very quiet he didn't really wake up properly and I was concerned as was the nurse who was in the recovery bay as she said he has a dreadful cough. She asked for him to be seen ASAP and no one did - the tropical bay staff came and collected us both and brought us back to the ward area. When we was there they was trying to force feed him and get him to go toilet of which he wasn't up to doing any , he was so weak he could hardly move or talk . I noticed a large bruise to his neck area and asked why he had it they had no idea but they didn't check with any notes. After 6 hours they said he was to go home as he had a bite of a sandwich and went toilet. I wasn't happy and asked is it wise , they said that those where the rules and he was fine. We went home and after 2 days of consistent pain screaming and not being able to move his neck I took him back again. To a and e they looked at him and gave him a throat spray and told me to just concentrate on fluids. The consultant said it was normal and not to worry but all along I kept saying something wasn't right. They suggested some liquid foods etc , anyway after 6 days of trying to build his energy up nothing worked he was becoming weaker and weaker and he just couldn't talk properly, well on the 17th of 'March @ 3:30 am we found our son slumped on the floor in our hallway blood everywhere and he was barely conscious. We phoned for an ambulance of which was the most professional section of this hospital. They were fast and a doctor arrived too they all inspected the amount of blood loss and said it looked like he had be bleeding for sometime and that's his stomach was full of blood. They blue lighted us in and my son was seen by the most wonderful person in majors who was amazing and the ent consultant that we saw was thorough and stayed with us til we were on the ward , They never told me much but that he had contracted a virus And that he needed to be kept in for anti virals and anti biotics , pain management and fluids etc. The children's ward was dirty and there was blood on our ceiling above us , although the staff (most of them ) where lovely there was a lack of communications between doctors and nurses. No one seemed to know where people where and some children where on the ward who where waiting to go home and no one to discharge them. A total waste of time I had to keep reminding the nurses the times my sons was due pain killers etc as they kept missing him out time wise to start then the second day a nurse took it on her back to make sure he got it dead on time as he was in excruciating pain. Of which they said was normal. I have heard nothing back since and not even had any follow up with them , it really is disgusti

Responses

Thank you for leaving your feedback on NHS Choices. I am very sorry to hear about the complications your son has experienced following his surgery. I am also concerned to hear about the issues you have raised and would like to investigate further. To be able to do so, I am going to need more information from you. Please contact me through our PALS team on 01708 435 454 or email PALS@bhrhospitals.nhs.uk. Yours sincerely, Stephen Burgess Medical Director